Previously, it was thought that simple drying of clay-based animal litter products would kill any bacteria present to sanitize the litter prior to packaging. Recently, some producers of animal litter have taken to adding or applying various chemicals to the litter in an effort to sanitize the litter and inhibit growth of odor causing bacteria and fungi.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,927 discloses the addition of camphane derivatives to animal litter for use as odor inhibitor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,482 discloses the addition of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons to the animal litter which act as a bacteriostat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,920 discloses the addition of alkylated phenolic esters to clay and gypsum litters to act as an odor inhibitor.
The above products and others currently available all suffer from one or several use deficiencies. First, they do not effectively control the growth of bacterial and fungal spores after moisture has been absorbed by the litter. Second, many of the previous chemicals used in treating the litter are toxic to both humans and animals and could create serious health problems through long term usage. Also, the chemicals recited are not readily applied to animal litter products.